


Knight in Dented Armor

by Serendipity16



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, OTA, Office!Olicity, Past Relationship(s), Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-12 06:43:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11156415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serendipity16/pseuds/Serendipity16
Summary: 10.That's the message that was left on Felicity Smoak's car that started the downward spiral that has become her life. Sure, she has her amazingly gorgeous-I mean muscular- I mean supportive best friend and CEO, Oliver Queen to help her through this strange time. But will Felicity's past finally catch up to her? And what happens when the countdown runs out?9.8.7....





	1. 10

_10_

 

  _78...79...80...81...82..._

Felicity Smoak counted the number of shoe taps it was taking her best friend to make his grand appearance. Numbers. It's how she often viewed the world. Ever since she was a little girl she felt as if she could relate to numbers more than people. Numbers didn't lie, or leave, or hurt you. They were what they were and she admired them for that. Take away everything else and numbers are pure and real. She glanced at her phone. 4:47 P.M.. 

_Breathe in for three, out for three, and continue. 101...102...103.._

"Felicity, honey, thank you for being so patient," she heard his voice drift in from behind her. She smoothed her skirt and stood, slipping into a grand smile, because from the sound of his tone she was going to be playing a bit of a part for a second.  _Three seconds._ That's how long Felicity went without breathing when she turned and looked into Oliver Queen's eyes. It didn't matter that they had been friends for the better part of seven years, her breath caught every single time. Countless times. And that was saying something for Felicity Meghan Smoak. "I'm sorry I'm late, sweetie, traffic was crazy."

Her heart constricted painfully in her chest, knowing that his words weren't spoken in sincerity, but as an act. Nonetheless, she played along. "Don't worry about it, Sweets," she said, leaning in and pecking him on the cheek, "you'll just have to splurge on an extra glass of wine to make up for it." 

Oliver's eyebrow raised in amusement and he couldn't suppress a chuckle. "It's a deal." 

Felicity sent him a smirk and winked, well tried to wink. Then she slid her eyes over to the hostess and tilted her head. She watched as the woman's eyes scanned from her stiletto heals, skin tight black skirt and pink button-up blouse. The hostess was probably thinking about her in numbers, too, but different numbers than Felicity usually thought of. Scales. She figured that the hostess was probably weighing her in at a three, and cringed slightly. The blonde though of herself as a solid six.. on a good day. She readjusted her glasses out of old habit and cleared her throat. 

The hostess sighed. "Your waiter will be right over," she announced neutrally, before gliding away. 

Oliver pushed in Felicity's chair as she sat down then took his own seat. When he looked at her he looked visibly more relaxed. "Thank you for that," he said, closing his bright blue eyes and running a hand over his face. "I don't know how many times I turned down one of her passes at me, just while I was trying to find our table. I really thought I was doing better this week." 

Felicity laughed and crossed her legs. "Well, you still are, from what I've seen you've only had seven unwanted advanced the last two weeks. That might be a record. Although, you were gone for some of it, so my numbers may not be accurate." The way he tilted his head back and laughed made a flush spread across Felicity's cheeks. "So why was I summoned to dinner after already spending five hours in your office after my day off, Mr. Queen?"

He smiled and the edges of his eyes crinkled up, "I wanted to check in with you. I wasn't in the office like you were, overachiever." 

"You know, boss, I think that going in on weekends with even the CEO takes off deserves a pay raise." 

"Nearly everything you do deserves a pay raise, Felicity." 

Felicity nearly choked on her water, but recovered quickly. "W-well everything looks good. I have all the outlines for your meetings on Monday all typed up and ready to go-" 

"No, Felicity," Oliver stopped her by placing his hand on top of hers, "I meant check up in  _you_ about _you._ Business can wait. I've been gone for nearly a week-" 

"144 hours," She interrupted, unable to tear her eyes away from his hand perched on top of hers. 

He chuckled. "144 hours, then. And I want to know how you've been. How's Baby?" 

That got Felicity's attention. She perked up and clasped her hands in front of her mouth in excitement, "Oh, she's fantastic! Do you want to see a picture of her latest goof?" Without waiting for Oliver's response-which was that he'd look at anything that made Felicity that excited- she snatched her phone off the table and scrolled through her photo gallery. In seconds she had her arms stretched out, displaying the picture in front of Oliver's face. "She decided that it would be an adventure to explore between my couch cushions." 

Oliver leaned in and laughed at the sight of Felicity's creamsicle corgi with her butt up in the air trapped between two couch cushions. "She's adorable." 

"She keeps me on my toes," Felicity said, slipping her phone into her bag. The two of them slipped into comfortable conversation and Felicity stopped thinking about numbers. All those thoughts ceased in her head and all that lived in her brain at the moment was Oliver. They talked about Thea and Roy and how they were off on vacation together again. And how Tommy and Laurel wanted them over for dinner at some point this week. And of course how excited Felicity was to see Jon again since being Oliver's bodyguard required him to go on Oliver's business trip with him. And it was wonderful and great and Felicity felt at ease. But all things end. 

The piercing sound of Oliver's phone broke them out of their trance. "I'm sorry, Felicity, let me take this real quick," he said, lifting the phone to his ear and talking into it. Felicity smiled, thankful for the time that they had and placed her purse in her lap, knowing that this phone calls usually took him away from her. And this case was no different. He hung up the phone after promising his mother that he would be over to the mansion shortly. "I'm sorry to end this so soon," He explained to her, looking completely sincere with every word he spoke.  "Apparently my mother is quite impatient to see me after being gone for..." 

  
"144 hours, not including our dinner," Felicity smiled and stood, "anyone would." 

Oliver looked down, almost looking embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck, before brushing off his Henley and shrugging,  "Do you want me to walk you to your car, Felicity?" 

"No, you're fine Oliver. Go ahead to the mansion. I'm not even parked a block away." She stood and stepped closer to him. 

He placed his hand on her lower back and ducked his head so he could better see her face better. "You're absolutely sure?" She smiled and nodded and he gave her a small nod in return before pulling out his wallet and putting far too much on the table than necessary to cover dinner. "Okay, Felicity. I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned in and gave her a small peck on the cheek and she couldn't help the redness that spread across her cheeks that he pretended not to notice. As he walked away Felicity may or may not have spent three-four- more seconds watching Oliver's backside than she should have. But hey, she was only human.  _A human desperately in love with her best friend and boss._ She sighed and rubbed her forehead for a second before making her way to her car. 

When she finally got to her car, she spotted a something bright yellow in the corner of the drivers side window. The closer she got to her car, the more nervous she felt and she wished that she hadn't declined Oliver's invitation to walk her to her car. But when she got there, she noticed it was a sticky note with one number written on it. " **10** ". A shiver ran up her spine. She looked around almost frantically looking for anyone that seemed to be watching her, or looking suspicious. But everyone in Starling City seemed to be enjoying their own peaceful lives and not paying attention to what she was doing. She stared down at the note in her hands for a little longer before crumpling it between her fingers. Maybe it was someone playing some kind of a prank. She walked to the nearest trashcan and tossed it in, before turning around and getting in her car. 

By the time she got back to get townhouse, she still felt on edge.  _A run might help._ Baby greeted her as soon as she opened the door by throwing her squirming body up agains Felicity's legs. She chucked and bent down to pet the lovable pupper. She put her purse down on her table and walked back into her room, kicking off her heals as she did. She quickly unbuttoned her blouse and peeled it off of herself, tossing it on the floor right next to the hamper.  _So close_. She unzipped her skirt and stepped out of it, letting it settle on the floor. She was about to grab some running clothes when her phone buzzed on the bed. She picked it up and smiled

 **_Text: Oliver:_ ** _Thanks for seeing my for dinner tonight, Felicity. And thanks for all that you do. I don't say it enough._

She smiled and was so overwhelmed for a moment that she closed her eyes and let the emotions surge through her, clutching her phone to her chest. When she settled down some she typed out her reply:  _What are friends for? See you Monday (:_

His response was nearly immediate, like he was sitting on his phone waiting for her response- _which he was not! Because he was Oliver Freaking Queen._ _I'll be the one counting down the hours this time._

She shook her head and decided that his sudden change in behavior was too much to try and analyze tonight. She finally changed into running clothes and grabbed Baby's leash. After she got her little squiggle to settle down long enough to clip the leash to her, they went out and started their run together. Felicity counted the pounding of her feet against the pavement as she ran, trying to let the numbers replace her racing thoughts. When her steps weren't enough to keep her mind occupied she changed it to number of breathes she took per block, mentally averaging how much carbon dioxide she exhaled on her running trip, like normal geniuses did when they went on evening runs. By the time she got back to her apartment she had a very tired pupper on her hands and a nice clear mind. 

Until she noticed something bright yellow on her doorstep. 

Her heart shot up to her throat and she placed a hand over her heart, looking up around at the empty streets around her. Slowly she ascended the stairs and squatted to pick up the bright yellow sticky note. The sticky side was facing her, so its crinkled surface was deceivingly blank. But it looked like someone had tried to smooth it out after it crumpling it, and although she didn't want to admit it, she knew exactly what was going to be on the other side of the sticky note when she flipped it over. And when she did, that number was right there. 

**"10".**

Her hands started to shake as she grabbed for her keys in her pocket, and she struggled to open her door. She pushed through, stumbling a bit, barely able to take her eyes off the sticky note. She made her way over to her kitchen island and all but collapsed into the bar stools. She stared at the digits that mocked her on the tantalizing sticky note.  _Maybe_ , she rationalized with herself,  _I missed the garbage can and stepped on it. I'm kind of oblivious, it could have happened._ She stared at it for two more minutes, repeating that story in her head until she could almost visualize the scene happening in her head.  _Yeah, that had to be what happened._

She diligently walked through her apartment, cleaning up the mess of clothes she had left before. And yeah, maybe she took some time to make sure that her windows were locked. And so what if she triple checked that her apartment door was locked. It was normal precautions for anyone living alone in a city. Even though she had absolutely nothing to worry about. 

But that night as she crawled into bed, she whistled to Baby before she could adjust herself on her dog bed and patted next to her. Baby snatched up the chance to sleep on Mommy's bed without hesitation. Felicity laid on her side, with Baby curled up and pressed into her stomach. She forced her eyes closed and repeated the story that she came up with again and again in her mind.

And for the first time since Felicity could remember, numbers didn't give her comfort that night. 


	2. 9

1,783...1,784...1,785...1,786....

Felicity's feet pounded on the pavement as she tried her best to wear her body down. 1,787 steps 

in and she had run nearly a mile and a half. She usually didn’t push herself this hard, but she had only managed to get about two hours of pitiful sleep last night and her mind was absolutely restless. She didn’t even bring Baby on this adventure out of fear that she would push her too hard. But now that she thought of Baby her heart clenched. _What if someone broke in while she wasn’t there?_

Her pace quickened and she twisted through the streets until she found her home. She bound up the stairs with more grace than she thought she possessed and slammed the key in the lock, her hands shaking so much that she could barely get the door open. With her mind fearing the worst, she let out a sigh of relief when Baby was lounging on the couch. She was so tired that she barely lifted her head to acknowledge her mommy’s return. 

Felicity treaded through the townhouse as quietly as she could, doing a sweep to make sure that everything seemed in order. She tried to channel Diggle to mimic how he would do it, holding her breath nearly the entire time. When the coast seemed clear she sunk to her knees in the middle of her bedroom, eventually flopping on her bum and pulling her legs up to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and tried to steady her erratic breathing. This was too much. 

When she felt that she trusted herself enough to breathe normally she lifted her head and pulled her phone out of her pocket, not even registering that it wasn’t even five in the morning, yet. She typed her message to Oliver and with shaking fingers hit send: _Would it be okay if I brought Baby into the office today? She’ll be on her usual behavior, she just seems off and I want to keep an eye on her._ It was a complete lie, and that fact made her heart sink, but something was holding her back from telling Oliver what was wrong. 

Oliver’s response came almost immediately: _Of course, she’s always welcome. Is everything okay, Felicity?_

If she wasn’t so terrified she would have laughed at that. _Yes, just one of those nights._

This response took a little longer to come in and she could almost _feel_ the doubt oozing out of it. _I am always here for you if you need me. No matter what. See you in a few hours._

Felicity smiled and forced herself off of the floor, gearing up to face today. _You’re overreacting,_ she told herself, _get a grip._ But she couldn’t. She couldn’t let it go and she couldn’t tell anyone. 

 _Coward,_ she scolded herself. Shaking her head she made her way to the bathroom.

In an hour she was showered dressed and perched in her office chair, Baby nestled into her dog bed underneath Felicity’s desk. The blonde was doing her absolute best to focus on getting ready for the day ahead and not thinking about the post-it note that she hastily shoved into the outside pocket of her purse for reasons that are absolutely beyond her. _It had to be a mistake,_ she told herself over and over again. 190,578 keyboard taps in she finally found her groove and was able to shove the note to the back of her brain. 

She kicked off her shoes and tucked her leg underneath herself, petting Baby with her free foot underneath her desk. She didn’t hear Oliver get off of the elevator, nor did she see the way that he stared at her as if seeing her like this brought him such joy. And she didn’t see the wave of fear that ran through his eyes when he remember the text that he received at a worrisome hour this morning. It even took Oliver clearing his throat four times before she broke her gaze away from her computers and landed it on the man she was constantly denying her feelings for. 

Oliver gave her a small, crooked grin-one that Felicity often pretended was just for her- and  stretched out his arm to offer her the coffee he had picked up for her. She instantly perked up and snatched it away from him, bringing it to her lips and closing her eyes, a small moan escaping the back of her throat. When she made eye contact with him again the grin remained, but his eyes seemed a little darker. She cleared her throat, “Sorry, thank you _so_ much, you have no idea how much I needed that.” 

He chuckled and looked down for a minute, rubbing the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t securing his brief case to his side. “I had a hunch that would come in handy with how early I got the text from you this morning.” 

Felicity screwed her eyes closed in frustration at herself, “Oh, Oliver, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking when I sent that so early-”

“No, Felicity it’s okay,” He said softly, “Hang on one minute.” He walked into his office and slung his briefcase off from around his shoulder before coming back and standing at her side. “Felicity, you’ve been my best friend for seven years now. You’ve been by my side through everything,” he lightly put his hand on top of hers and ducked his head to look at her better, “through my Dad dying, and taking over this company and just… everything. You’ve been there. So just remember that I’m here for you, too.” 

She had to fight back the tears in her eyes and she flipped her hand over and clutched his tightly, “I know that Oliver. You’ve been there for me, too. My break-ups and Dad issues, and everything. We’re a team, I know that.” 

He squeezed her hand when she said that and something she couldn’t- or wasn’t ready to- read flashed across his eyes. “We are, one of the best teams. And maybe I’m overreacting and it was just an early morning text, but I just had the feeling that something was wrong. And I never want you to feel like there’s something you can’t tell me.” 

Felicity took a deep breath and licked her lips. _Tell him,_ she thought to herself, commanding her lips to form the words she wanted to say. Her eyes darted to the corner of the post-it note sticking out of her purse and she almost got her  lips to work for her, _just tell him, damnit,_ but the sound of the elevator door made them both jump. They pulled their hands away from each other quickly and the connection was severed. For a moment Felicity’s heart sank, but when she saw who it was she quickly recovered. 

“John!” She said, standing up from her desk and dashing over to him. He barely had time to open his arms before she attacked him with a hug. “I missed you!” 

He chuckled and hugged her back before grabbing her arms and backing up to look at her. “Wow, I feel like I’m getting Star treatment. Miss me that much?” 

 _Thank you for being an amazing body guard and teaching me how to sweep rooms._ “Just missed you is all.” She turned around to smile at Oliver and noticed that his lips were pulled down into a pout. _Could he be jealous?_ _No._

Baby chose that moment to emerge from her dog bed to say ‘hi’ to Diggle and the giant leaned down to scratch right between her ears. _“_ Well, I missed you, too, Felicity. But I bet the office was nice and quiet with this one gone,” he teased, nodding his head to Oliver.

“Hey!” He exclaimed, a look of fake hurt crossing his face. 

Felicity chuckled, and nodded her head, “You have no idea, I actually got work done…” She couldn’t help but laugh at the puppy-dog expression. “I’m kidding, this place wasn’t the same without my boys, and I genuinely missed you both.” That seemed to placate Oliver because his lopsided grin returned to his face and her heart skipped a beat. “Hey, to celebrate you both coming back, how about we have a movie night at my house? Oliver has meetings all day and I’d like to hear how the trip went. _Plus then I wouldn’t be alone._

Diggle stood up, much to Baby’s heartbreak, and smiled. “Yeah, I think I could fit that in. It’s been a while since we’ve just hung out.” 

Baby padded her way over to Oliver and sat right on his foot as she always did. Felicity was convinced it was her way of marking Oliver as her own. It seemed her Dog was just as smitten with him as she was.  Oliver nodded, glancing down at the dog who occupied his foot. “That sounds perfect. I can come over early to cook us dinner if you want.” 

Now Felicity was really excited. Oliver’s food was absolutely to die for, not to mention she would never say no to extra time with him. “You don’t mind?” 

He smiled, “Of course not. It’s been too long since I last cooked you a proper meal.” 

Felicity looked down to try to hide the blush that crept across her cheeks and nodded. “It’s a date, then. I mean, not a date-date because John will be there, too. Not that you’re not datable John, honestly, I mean look at those arms, I just meant that a date is hardly between three people. Unless you’re into that, too, I mean there’s nothing wrong with that as long as everyone’s consenting to it, who am I to judge-” Diggle cleared his throat and Felicity got her lips to stop moving. “Good, yes, okay, thanks. Baby, time to get off of Oliver’s foot, he has a lot of meetings to get through today.” Her dog huffed at her and slowly made her way back to her bed. Felicity could almost hear her dog saying ‘ _Thanks for cock-blocking me, bitch.’_ She walked over to her desk and grabbed the folder of notes she had prepared for the day. “And here’s everything you should need to be prepared, Mr. Queen.” 

“Thank you, Miss Smoak, you’re remarkable,” He said, seriousness soaking his voice and an unfamiliar gleam tinting his eyes. 

Her voice shrunk as she replied with a soft smile, “Thank you for remarking on it.” His eyes lingered for a moment more and he leaned in a gave her a soft peck on the cheek before taking the notes from her hands. “I’ll read over these real quick and then we can head out.” Her voice was stolen from her so all she could do was nod. She stared at him for six seconds after he retreated back into his office before sighing and turning to go back to her desk. But Diggle’s curious gaze caught her eye. 

“I’m sorry, did I miss something?” He asked, raising a questioning eyebrow into the air. Felicity’s cheeks felt like they were on fire as she creased her eyebrows to act like she hadn’t a clue what Diggle was referring to. Which is exactly what she told him. He tilted his head and did all the he could not to laugh at her. “Between you and Oliver?” 

“Shhh!” She said, jumping closer to him and glancing back at Oliver’s desk to make sure that he hadn’t overheard. “What on earth are you talking about?” 

“Well besides that fact that there were about ten more pounds of sexual tension between you two than there normally are, I have never seen him give you a peck on the cheek-”

“Uhm, no, he does that all the time-”

“In the office,” he finished, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

Felicity cleared her throat and sighed. “You’re reading too much into it, John, he was probably just thankful that I got all the information for him while he was away and everything.”

John looked like he was going to argue, but decided against it, just shaking his head. “You two are the only people who don’t see it, aren’t you?”

“Excuse me?” She said, genuinely confused. 

He chuckled and patted her on the back, “Nothing, Felicity.” He looked over her shoulder then, waited a minute and then swooped in to give her a peck on the cheek just as Oliver did. She was confused at first, usually Digs kept the physical displays of affection to a minimum, not that she was complaining. But when Diggle walked away and she turned around, she saw Oliver’s eyes following John with an annoyed expression on his face. 

She sighed. “Men,” she huffed to herself. Baby let out a small _bark_ of agreement. 

* * *

 

Felicity finally gave into sleep, curled up on her side on the couch, Baby in a ball against her stomach leaning her head against her side, snoring away. She dreamt of the color yellow and the number ten repeatedly, and found her heart racing even in her dream. A knock on her front door startled her out of her slumber. It was quick and hasty and she just _knew_ something was wrong about it. 

In her sleepy state she groped around for anything she could used to defend herself, and when her fingers slid around a cool medal surface, she grabbed it without thinking twice. She practically leapt off the couch, but then slowly, so _painfully slowly_ , made her way to the front door, holding her weapon up over her head to give her the most leverage to strike. She tried to stay to the side of the door, so her attacker couldn’t see the light move underneath the door crack, then twisted her torso so that she could look out the peephole. 

When she saw who it was she breathed out an audible sigh of relief and flung the door open, clumsily throwing her arms around Oliver. Her bore her weight the best he could, but she quickly realized that his hands were full of grocery bags. _Grocery bags? Why… Oh my God. Dinner. Movie. Duh._

“Felicity what’s wrong?” He said, brushing past her and looking around, as if he was going to find some source of danger inside of her apartment. She watched his muscles strain against his grey henley as he paced around from room to room, trying to find something and ignoring the squiggling dog at his feet. 

“Sorry, sorry, nothing is wrong, I was just really.. excited for dinner tonight,” She finished weakly, trying to hold her weapon behind herself so that he couldn’t see it. 

But he turned to hone his gaze on her and his eyes immediately landed on it. “So you often answer your door with a lamp in your hand?” He barked at her, frustration layering each one of his words. 

She flinched and looked down at the floor, avoiding his eyes. She hadn’t even realized that she had grabbed a lamp until he said it. “I’m redecorating.” 

He let out a disbelieving laugh and walked into the kitchen, putting the groceries on the kitchen table and pinching the bridge between his nose. He stood like that for thirty-four seconds and Felicity counted each one, unsure of what his next move was going to be. He finally dropped his hand and walked over to her, cupping her elbows. “Felicity, what is wrong and don’t say-”

“Nothing.”

“-nothing.” He sighed and stepped closer to her. “Please.” 

It was the please that got to her- _much like the Dread Pirate Roberts in A Princess Bride-_ and she sighed and looked into his eyes before stuttering out. “B-bad dream. I’ve been having bad dreams.” _It’s only half of a lie._

His eyes darted back and forth between her own before blue met blue in a heated match. Eventually he caved and let out a breath between gritted teeth. “This is me realizing that you’re not telling me the whole truth, but letting you come to me when you’re ready. But Felicity please come to me, when you’re ready.” All she could do was nod her head, her throat was constricted with emotion. Oliver dipped his forehead to hers for a moment before pulling back, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head and turning to start dinner. 

He cooked in comfortable silence. She sat at her island on her stool seat with her legs pulled up to her chest and a book resting on her knees while Oliver maneuvered his way throughout the kitchen, never having to ask once where something was because he knew the layout better than she did. When he put the chicken cordon blue in the oven, they migrated to the couch. They assumed the position they always did, which was Oliver in the middle of the couch, Felicity on one side with her legs across his lap and Baby nestled into his other side. Felicity fought against her heavy lids as sleep tried to claim her, and Oliver was not making it better by tracing his finger from her ankle up to her knee and back again. 

Oliver was the one to break the comfortable silence. “So did you ever go on that date with Palmer?” he asked, in a voice that was quiet for him. 

Felicity had to think to herself for a moment. _Palmer? Oh!_ “You mean, Ray? Yeah, we went out to dinner last Wednesday when you were away.” 

“How, uh, did it go?” He asked, tilting his head to look at her. 

She snorted and shook her head. “Oh, it was awful. The man didn’t stop talking about himself for ten seconds! I swear, I don’t think that I ever finished a sentence without him finding a way to bring the topic back to something ‘amazing’ that he did. It was one of the worst dates of my life.” 

Oliver chuckled now, some tension leaving his body. “I never liked that guy.” 

Felicity smiled and decided to play with him. “I just thought you were jealous.” 

He looked a little startled then cleared his throat. “I just think you deserve the best.” 

“Eehh, I’m not sure about that,” She said, her voice light and clearly joking. 

“You’re right,” He said, his tone taking all of the humor out of the air, “you deserve better than the best.” Their eyes locked, and the air became them became thick and alive. Felicity swore that she could _feel_ the energy radiating between them. She wasn’t sure who moved first but it was as if they were slowly being pulled towards one another. But then Diggle did his usual ‘Shave and a Haircut’ knock and the moment was over. Oliver cleared his throat. “I’ll get it.” 

The rest of the night went without any more intense moments between them. They ate Oliver’s amazing dinner then watched some movie about a group of superheros saving the world together and Felicity found herself drifting off with her head leaning on Oliver’s shoulder. Life was good. Life was content. 

Someone knocked at the door. 

“Who the hell could that be at this time of night?” Oliver said, getting off the couch to make his way to the door. 

Something slammed into Felicity. The number of knocks. _Nine._ Yesterday was ten. Today is nine. “No!” She exploded, grabbing his hand and pulling him back. She jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm with her other hand, repeating over and over again, “Oliver don’t get it, don’t open it, Oliver, don’t…” 

“What?” He asked, his voice shaking as he wound his arms around her to keep her standing. “Felicity, honey, what’s wrong? Talk to me, Felicity.” 

“Don’t, don’t, don’t,” she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t speak words other than the mad ramblings of a terrified woman.

Diggle pulled his gun out from it’s holster and made his way to the door. Felicity made a tiny noise of protest and Oliver tucked her head into his shoulder, cradling her. Dig looked through the peephole, stepped back, and without lowering his gun opened the door and stepped out, turning side to side. No one was there. He looked down between his feet and picked up something off of the ground. 

“What is it?!” Oliver growled, and Felicity could feel the vibrations through his chest.

“It’s a picture of Felicity,” he said, closing the door and re-holstering his gun. Felicity started shaking her head, her trembling getting worse with every word he spoke. “There’s no note. Just a number written on the back.” 

Felicity fully buried her head into Oliver’s chest until all she could see was darkness. “What number?!” Oliver asked, fuming and gripping her tightly.

“Nine,” she said in a voice so small they barely heard her, “the number written on the back is nine.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you like it and if you'd like to leave feedback! You have no idea how very much it means to me.


	3. 8

**8**

 

_37… 38…39…40…41…_

 

Felicity counted the heartbeats that Oliver was silent for. But to be fair, they all really only equated for a couple of seconds because his heart was hammering strong and fast against her ear. She could practically feel him vibrating, and she wasn’t sure whether it was with fear or anger. Possibly both. Both made sense.

 

_“Fel-ic-ity,”_ Oliver dragged out, his voice tense and definitely coming in between gritted teeth. “How did you know the number.”

 

Taking a deep breath and holding it for three seconds, she lifted her head from Oliver’s chest, but refused to meet his eyes. Instead she turned her gaze towards Digs, and seeing the fear and worry in his eyes felt like a sucker punch to her stomach. She tentatively held out her hand, silently wanting him to hand her the picture. He hesitated, but when her outstretched arm didn’t waver, he sighed and handed it over.

 

The number was facing up, and she took a moment to study the handwriting. The penmanship seemed so similar that she didn’t think that she could convince herself that it wasn’t written by the same person that left the original note. When she flipped the picture over she couldn’t help but suck in a harsh breath, bringing her hand to her mouth. The blood was rushing in her ears so loudly that she couldn’t hear a word her guys were saying to her. Her eyes just darted around the picture frantically, trying to deny what she clearly saw.

 

Oliver’s hands cupped her cheeks and gently raised her gaze away from the photograph and into his eyes instead. She saw his lips moving, but she still couldn’t hear the words coming out of his mouth. When his thumbs started rubbing her cheeks she realized she was crying. She took s shuttering breath and finally his words reached her.

 

“Felicity, what the hell is going on?” He asked. She could hear the clear concern in his voice, but she could also hear the anger. She knew some of that was directed at her, which made her wince. He ran a hand through her hair and sighed. When he spoke again his voice was much softer. “Felicity, let me help you. Let me in.”

 

She scanned his blue eyes one more time before nodding and slowly handing him the picture. When his eyes scanned it they darkened with anger. The photo was of her, holding her phone, a dopey grin plastered on her face, in only her underwear. She knew where and when it was taken. And that thought made her want to retch. She watched Oliver open and close his mouth a few times when a thought struck her. She turned on her heels and practically stormed out of the room.

 

Her boys yelled after her, and followed her, sending each other confused glances as they did. She walked right into her room and pressed herself against the window, practically plastering her face up against it. She looked frantically around the streets and the balconies in the surrounding buildings, as if the person who took the picture would still be there, waiting for her. It wasn’t until Oliver ran his hands up her arms that she whirled around.

 

“Maybe if I can hack into the traffic cameras I can get a facial recognition. I at least know when the photograph was taken so there’s—”

 

“Felicity,” Oliver cut her off, cupping her cheeks with his hands, his eyes still burning with intensity, but the fear was showing more than the anger. Felicity didn’t know if she preferred that or not. “Slow down, and explain. Now.”

 

Felicity nodded, looking into his steel blue eyes for any sort of support she could get. She took a deep breath, and tried to will the tears spilling down her cheeks to stop. She didn’t want to seem as weak as she felt at that moment. “It started yesterday,” she let her eyes flicker to the ground, but when his thumbs stroked her cheeks again, she couldn’t help but bring them back up. “When I got to the car there was a note on my window. It was just a post-it note with the number ten on it. Nothing else. I thought that it must of been just someone pulling a prank, or maybe they meant to put it on someone else’s car. I just crumpled it up and threw it out and drove home.” She sighed and bit her lip. Oliver’s gaze never wavered, silently telling her that he was there for her. “I still felt uneasy when I got home, so I took Baby for a run.When I got back the note was un-crumpled and sitting on my doorstep.”

 

She heard Diggle let out a curse, and Oliver’s whole body tensed. “That’s why you were up this morning.” She nodded her head, finally dropping her eyes from his intense stare.

 

“Did you notice anyone odd, Felicity?” Diggle asked, and she could tell from his tone that he was no longer in ‘friend’ mode, but ‘bodyguard’. She shook her head and he nodded. “Well, it’s a good idea to check the traffic cameras, but you don’t have to commit any crimes, Felicity. We’ll look into this through A.R.G.US. We’ll take a look at the footage facing the building, too, since he clearly managed to deliver this to your door. Consider me your new bodyguard until this is over.”

 

Guilt washed over her full-force and she stepped out of Oliver’s comfort to put her hand on Dig’s arm. “You don’t have to do that, John, I know that you and Lyla are busy enough with your own clients.”

 

Dig’s dark eyes focused sternly on her. “We are, but you take priority, Felicity.” The finality in his tone struck her, and all she could do was shake her head in a silent ‘thank you’. He let the corner of his lip curl up slightly. “Besides, what’s the use in owning your own Protection Company if I can’t use it to make sure that one of the most important people to me is safe.” That pulled out a thankful chuckle from her.

 

Oliver cleared his throat behind them, causing Felicity to turn and face him. He looked like he was holding on by a very thin string and when he spoke his voice was strained. “John, may I have a moment alone with Felicity?” Diggle looked at Felicity questioningly and when she nodded he slowly retreated out of her room.

 

The blonde watched the man who made her heart skip a beat very closely. He was looking away from her, rubbing his finger and his thumb together roughly, a tell-tale sign that his emotions were barely under control. She remembered how raw this fingers were when he was going through everything with his father a few years ago and hated the thought that that could be the case again. She slowly stepped towards him and took his massive hand in her small one. Without hesitation he laced his fingers through hers, but didn’t look at her. “Oliver…” she started, but cut herself off when she saw the tick of his jaw.

 

She waited thirteen more seconds before he took a deep breath, letting it out through his nose before speaking. His voice was purposeful and quiet. “Why didn’t you tell me.” It was a question and an accusation all wrapped up into one painful sentence.

 

“I didn’t see the need to worry you about it.”

 

“You didn’t-” his head whipped around so fast that part of Felicity was shocked that he didn’t get whiplash. “Are you _kidding_ me Felicity? You didn’t see the need to _worry me_? As if anything involving you wasn’t need _enough_?”

 

He was seething, and she knew that she said the wrong thing. “I didn’t mean it like that, Oliver. I just meant that I didn’t think it was a big deal-”

 

“Not a _big deal_? Someone followed you home, Felicity! They left a note for you! How is that not a big deal? Hell they just knocked on your front door and left a picture of you there! I _knew_ I should have walked you to your car, I should have just-”

 

“Oliver,” she said, and this time it was her delicate hand that cupped Oliver’s cheek. She lightly ran her fingers through his stubble and tried to ignore the pull in her chest when he not-so-subtly leaned his face further into her palm. “There was nothing that you could have done. Nothing happened then, nothing too bad that is.” She tacked that last part on quickly when she saw him start to open his mouth in protest. “You were here today, Oliver. That’s what’s important. Focus on that. I needed you today and you were here.”

 

He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his face more fully into her. When his eyes opened again they were clearer and determined. “You’re not staying here.”

 

Part of her wanted to protest, to tell him that he in no way could boss her around. But this was all so much and she could tell that he was just barely keeping himself together. And if she was being honest with herself, so was she. She nodded and immediately could feel some of the tension leave him. He slowly nodded, before wrapping his arm around her back and pulling her to him. She buried her head in his chest and let her hand drop from his face to grasp his shirt instead. They stayed like that for what felt like minutes, but for once Felicity didn’t count. She just focused on his warmth and his smell and used it to ground herself. Oliver eventually pulled back and pressed a hard kiss to her forehead, lingering a few seconds longer than he should have. When she looked back up at him she gave him a bit of a smile, trying to reassure him. It didn’t seem to work.

 

He took a step back and looked around, “I’ll go call Mom so she can get the guest room set up for you before you arrive.”

 

“Oliver, I can’t stay at the mansion. If only for the sole reason that your family could be put at risk in this situation by bringing whatever this is there.”

 

“You know that our security is the best of the best,” He said, looking completely set, “Diggle would be insulted with you even thinking that his company can’t protect us. Be careful, get too cheeky with me and I may have to let it slip that you’re doubting him.” That earned a small chuckle from her and finally his lips ticked into a small smile. “Pack up your stuff, Felicity. And don’t think that we’re done with this conversation about you keeping things from me.”

 

She sighed and rolled her eyes at him before turning and walking into the closet. She grabbed the duffle bag out from under her shelf and began methodically packing her clothes, bundling them all up as tightly as she could. She had no idea how long she would be out of her apartment- although the morbid part of her thought that this would all be over in nine days one way or another- but she also didn’t want to bring more than one bag. So without folding them in a way that would wrinkle her work outfits she packed as many as she could into the one duffle. She figured that Oliver could come back here with her if she really needed more clothes. Luckily over the years Oliver had insisted that he kept some toiletries in the mansion for her, just in case she ever needed to stay the night. To be fully honest, there were times when that was a complete godsend, and now was definitely one of those times. All she had to do was grab her makeup bag, knowing that a toothbrush and other supplies were already waiting for her there.

 

Oliver did not look any less tense when she made her way into the living room. He was working to tidy up the kitchen and clean up the leftovers, while Diggle was grabbing things for Baby. She felt the tears come back, seeing her boys take care of her without her even having to ask them. Oliver must have noticed, because he came over to her and gave her hand a squeeze. “We’re always going to be here for you,” he said, and Felicity was convinced that he was magical and could read her mind. She squeezed his hand back and gave him a small smile.

 

Baby trotted over to her and sat on her foot, clearly missing the gravity of the situation. Her tongue rolled out of her mouth as she looked up at Felicity and she could have sworn that the little corgi was smiling up at her. Felicity bent down and scooped up the little fluff ball in her arms. She pressed her face into her soft fur and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them Baby was completely focused on Oliver. Like Mommy, like Puppy Daughter, she supposed. Oliver stepped closer and gently scratched the spot between Baby’s ears. Having him this close, with Baby in her arms, it seemed like everything was going to be okay. He smiled down at her, she gazed up at him, the air in the room instantly thickened and the rest of the world fell away. Diggle cleared his throat.

 

“We all set here?” He asked. Felicity jumped slightly and backed up a step before nodding, trying to force her cheeks to stop blushing. Oliver walked away, grabbing her duffle from the floor and and snatching up most of Baby’s supplies as well. He said that he’d meet them in the car and she nodded. John raised his eyebrows at Felicity in a questioning look when he left and she tried her best to look as innocent as possible. The attempt did earn her a smile from Diggle as he chuckled and shook his head. She grabbed Baby’s leash, attaching it to the collar and grabbed her purse, taking one last look around the apartment as she closed the door and locked it.

 

* * *

 

 

Her only saving grace of the night was that Thea and Moira had already gone to bed by the time they arrived at the Queen Mansion. It wasn’t that she didn’t love them dearly, she did, and even considered them family. But the adrenaline had worn off and she felt as if her limbs were weighed down with bags of sand. She was seated in the back seat, Baby snuggled in her lap and her shoulder flushed with Oliver’s. His heat did nothing but make it harder not to be pulled under by the pure exhaustion spreading through her. At some point she must have given in, because the next thing she knew they were parked in front of his house and she was practically drooling on his shoulder. If he noticed, he pretended not to, he just gently encouraged her to wake up and get out of the car. 

 

She shuffled towards the car, cuddling Baby close to her chest for the warmth. Oliver held all of her things, her duffle was slung across his body and he managed to hold all of Baby’s belongings in his right hand. They waved Diggle goodnight and then Oliver reached his free hand back out to Felicity. She laced her fingers in his and leaned into him for support. They made their way inside and up the stairs. Felicity already knew which guest room she was staying in. Whenever she stayed over she stayed in the room directly across the hall from Oliver. She sometimes wondered if he liked keeping her close. If he did, she didn’t mind, especially since he was no longer the playboy the the tabloids portrayed him as.

 

He didn’t drop her hand until he needed to shimmy her duffle bag off and put it on the floor. Felicity unhooked Baby’s leash and placed the pup down, who started trotting around the familiar room. Oliver set up her bed and gave her a quick pet as she curled up into it before turning and looking at Felicity, who was leaning pretty heavily against the bed. He gave her a small smile. “Go ahead and get changed. I’ll get you some water.” Felicity smiled back and nodded, padding into the bathroom and stripping once the door was closed. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, staring at herself for a few seconds in the mirror before changing into her pajamas. When she came back out Oliver was sitting on the bed, his back to her, head in his hands, water sitting on the nightstand. She gently sat next to him, leaning her arm against his, much like it was in the car. He sighed, lifting his head and nudging into her slightly. He seemed to study her intently, althoughshe wasn’t sure what more he needed to look for. She felt like in the span of the last two hours he’d seen right into her soul every time he looked. “I do want to have a talk about you keeping things from me. But you look exhausted, which is to be expected now that the adrenaline is wearing off. So how about you get some sleep and we’ll talk tomorrow?” She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder and he pressed a kiss to her hair before resting his chin on her head.

 

They were never usually this physical, not in the seven years that they had been friends. But, _google_ , she had always wanted to be. It was really no secret that she was completely smitten withOliver. Sometimes it seemed like he was the only one who didn’t see it. Sometimes she thought that it was for the best. Who knows what would happen to their friendship if things were to… _progress._ But it didn’t really matter, he would never see her in that way.

 

Her eyes were starting to drift closed, and noticing this, Oliver stood and gently helped her adjust so her head was on the pillow and she was comfortably in bed. He pulled the sheet up to her shoulders and ran a gentle hand over her cheek before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Good night, Felicity.”

 

“Night, ‘liver.” She responded, before giving into sleep. She must have been more tired than she originally thought, because she made if through the entire night without so much as stirring, and she didn’t think she even dreamed, much less suffered from nightmares. If that had anything to do with the man across the hall making her feel safe just by being twenty feet away from her, then you didn’t see her complaining. She got dressed and peaked out to see if Oliver’s door was open. When she saw it was she walked across the hall into his room and couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.

 

She heard the water running in his bathroom and figured that he was brushing his teeth, so she took the time to examine the room. It had been a few months that she had been in here. It always amazed her how barren his room was. While she didn’t expect him to have as many pictures out as she had, there were only three frames in his entire room, and she gave all of them to him. One was taken at a holiday party five years ago, featuring herself, Oliver,his parents and Thea. Another was her two boys and her on a trip to Las Vegas to see her mother, and the last one was one of her and Oliver that Thea had took without their knowledge. She picked the picture up and stared down at it fondly, tracing his features through the glass with the pad of her index finger. In the picture her eyes were closed, her lips pulled back into a wide smile that was taken mid-laugh and her hand was partially covering her face. Oliver, on the other hand was- what a dreamer might call- gazing down at her. His blue eyes were sparkling and he was smiling what she secretly called his ‘Felicity’ smile. Her heart was soaring just looking at it.

 

She heard the bathroom door open and scrambled to put down the picture and whipped around, trying to act as if she wasn’t doing anything wrong. When she faced him he was buttoning the last few buttons of his dress shirt. She swallowed hard and made her way over to him, snatching up the tie from his bed and going to wrap it around his neck. He leaned down so she could reach better, a move they had done a million times.

 

“How did you sleep?” He asked, forgoing a ‘good morning’ and getting straight to the point.

 

“Like a rock. Literally. I don’t think I moved an inch, which is weird for me as you know. I’m usually exceedingly squirmy in my sleep, which is what I tell myself when I get sad when Baby doesn’t want to sleep in the same bed as me. I figure I must have accidentally kicked her off one too many times. At least, that hurts worse than the rejection of your pet, because, honestly, that’s one of the lowest lows you can get and oh my goodness why aren’t you stopping me right now?” Her eyes were wide and her fingers were fumbling over the knot of his tie.

 

He chuckled and shrugged, “You know I always love your babbles.” She looked away from the knot and into his eyes. That thing happened where the air in the room seemed to sizzle and all Felicity could do was let it happen. His eyes flickered to her lips for a split second and she could have sworn that he leaned in closer before clearing his throat and pulling back slightly. She tried not to let it sting too much as she finished up his tie and took a step back.

 

The rest of the morning was uneventful after that. She tried to push this whole ordeal out of her mind. Diggle came and picked them both up to head to the office. It took Oliver a bit of convincing to let her go in, but eventually he realized that she was safest with them, and he needed to go to the office himself. So the three of them took off and seemed to go about their days.

 

She could still feel Oliver’s eyes on her while she worked, but for the most part she was able to tune him out. She was able to get a lot done. The excess nervous energy she has was very much channeled into productivity. In fact, she was so absorbed into her work, that she didn’t realize when it hit five and it was time to go.

 

The drive home was met with silence, and unlike usual it was pretty tense. She assumed her boys were worrying about the psycho stalker. Felicity, on the other hand, was more stressed about that talk that Oliver wanted to have. She wasn’t sure why she was so stressed. She guessed she just didn’t want to see the pain and disappointment in his eyes. When they got to the mansion she walked into the guest room, wringing her hands together with nerves. Even being greeted by a squiggly corgi didn’t put her at ease. And when Oliver knocked at the open doorway, she felt her stomach drop.

 

Oliver’s hands were in his pockets and he was lightly kicking his foot at the ground, head down in the direction that he was kicking. When he finally looked up his features were soft, very unlike what Felicity had expected. “How about a walk?” He asked. “We can take Baby to that park that you like.” Feeling a little more at ease, Felicity nodded, and gathered Baby’s leash. Twenty minutes later the pair was sitting on a park bench, watching the little creamsicle pup explore around the pond, and admiring the setting sun. Felicity was swinging her feet back and forth, the tips of her toes just skimming the grass.

 

Oliver broke the silence. “Why didn’t you tell me, Felicity? Do you not trust me?”

 

“Oh, Oliver,” she said, and without even realizing it she clutched his hand, “that’s not it at all. I don’t know exactly why I didn’t tell you. I honestly didn’t even admit that it was real to myself. Ihad myself pretty convinced that I had missed the garbage can and stepped on it as I was walking away. It’s really not unheard of, knowing me. Obviously I was uneasy, but I didn’t want to admit it, Oliver. It really wasn’t even until someone knocked on my door. It seemed impossible. I mean, why me? I’m a no one, Oliver. What’s the point?”

 

“You are _not_ a no one, Felicity,” Oliver said through clenched teeth. “You’re one of the most important people in my life.” Once more he flipped over his hand to lace their fingers together, and Felicity couldn’t help but think that this was quickly becoming a habit of his. “I understand, I do. But you have to be truthful from here out. I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s wrong. And I need you safe, Felicity. Do you understand?” All she could do was nod, not trusting her voice. “I’ll always protect you, Felicity. Nothing is going to happen to you.”The emotions coursing through her were bubbling in her chest and she had to look down. Oliver gently grabbed her chin between his fingers and raised her eyes to meet his. “I promise.”

 

Her eyes glazed over and she nodded, and the two of them were lost in their spell for the umpteenth time in the last twenty-four hours. But the spell was quickly broken by her dog tugging on Oliver’s pant leg. He dropped his gaze and scooped up the wriggling puppy, plopping her on his lap and scratching her behind both ears as she desperately tried to lick his face. He chuckled and ruffled her fur around her neck, adjusting her collar for her. “Hey what is that?” His eyes caught sight of something wrapped around the emerald green collar and he grabbed it, unraveling and pulling it close to him. When his eyes passed over it his jaw clenched so tight she was afraid his teeth would shatter.

 

Felicity’s heart dropped, and even though she already knew the answer she asked the question anyway. “What is it Oliver?”

 

When he spoke his voice was ice, and his eyes matched when they made contact with hers. His fingers were gripping the paper so tightly that they were starting to turn red. “Eight.” He ground out. “The paper says ‘Eight.’”


	4. 7

7  
****

 

_8…9…10…11…_

Felicity counted how many police officers and A.R.G.U.S. employees were on the scene. Right now A.R.G.U.S. outweighed the cops seven to four. She wasn’t surprised by that. She had assumed that when Diggle had found out that he would send a small army. She just didn’t expect everything to take so long. In the movies and T.V. shows it all seems like ten minutes, talking to the police. Instead her and Oliver had been stuck here for almost two hours. The sun had gone down and taken all it’s warmth with it. She sat on the park bench and snuggled Baby closer to her chest, trying to push away all the thoughts of someone else’s hands on her.

Whoever it was _touched_ her dog. Grabbed her collar. The thought made her want to retch and punch something at the same time. She sighed, and let her eyes scan the area for Oliver. He looked so tense that her heart constricted in her chest. He bounced around from person to person, trying to gather intel, give statements, and do anything he could to take care of this so they could go back to the mansion. Back home. But every two minutes she noticed his eyes would land on her, observing her, checking on her. He did as much of the talking for her as he could, trying to protect her from everything. She couldn’t love him more for it.

She watched him briskly nod at the agent he was speaking to, say a few words to Diggle and then stalk over to her. His eyes were fire and he was rubbing his thumb with his forefinger again. He sighed and bent down in front of her, putting his hands on her knees and looking up at her. “How are you holding up?”

She focused on the heat that was radiating from his palms and used it to center herself. “I’m so tired. I really just want to go home, Oliver.” Her voice was so small that she almost didn’t recognize herself. She was usually a fighter, but for some reason throughout this whole thing all she’d done was hide and avoid. But she just didn’t have the energy to do anything else right now. She almost felt like she was dreaming.

Oliver’s jaw ticked, he was clenching it so tightly.“Then let’s go home, Felicity. I talked to everyone we needed to. Diggle and Lyla are going to stay behind to search some more, and Lyla’s going to review all of the footage tomorrow and we’ll meet with her then. And I know this is all too much right now.” He shifted so he was sitting on the bench next to her and cupped her cheek. Let’s get you home and rest, okay?”

She leaned into his hands and nodded her head, her eyelids drooping as she struggled against the exhaustion she felt. She let Baby hop down and gripped the leash tightly, making sure that there was no way she could go wandering away. Oliver grabbed her hand, and began leading her to the car when Detective Lance stepped in their way.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said and Felicity found herself stepping into his comforting embrace. “We’re gonna find this creep, okay?”

Felicity looked at the man fondly. Lance had always been extremely kind to her, stepping into a father roll that she didn’t know she had missed so much. She was so young when her father left her and her mother that it was just what she was used to. When she moved here and met Quentin she realized just how much she was missing from her life that way. She pulled back and her eyes were glossy. “I know you will. Thank you.”

A smile made its way onto his lips and he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You never had to thank me for looking out for you kiddo.” He turned his attention to Oliver then, his gaze really turning strict and fatherly now. “You take good care of her, Queen.”

Oliver nodded, wrapping an arm around her waist. “With my life.” Lance nodded at them and then turned and walked towards the other police officers. Oliver’s grip on Felicity remained steady and strong and he led her back to the car, tucking her into the passengers seat. She pressed her forehead to the cool class and closed her eyes, falling asleep before he was even able to get into the car. She woke to Oliver carrying her bridal-style up the stairs and held her breath. She knew she should probably let him know she was awake so he didn’t have to carry her. But she wanted to be selfish for a minute. She wanted to live in the safe, warm world that his arms offered her. When he walked into her bedroom she lifted her head, letting him know she was awake. He looked down at her, a soft smile playing on his lips, that were so _fracking_ close to hers. “Hey. I’m going to go get Baby some food, okay? How about you get changed.”

Wordlessly, she nodded, and he set her down, turning to go back to the kitchen, calling Baby to come with him. The puppy didn’t even hesitate, following Oliver like that was her one purpose in life. Almost mechanically, Felicity forced herself to walk into the bathroom and get ready for bed, even taking a quick shower to try and wash this horrible day off of her. When she walked out, Oliver was leaning against the doorframe in grey sweatpants and a white shirt, the smile returning to his face as soon as his eyes connected with hers. A glass of water was sitting on the nightstand and Baby was snuggled into her doggie bed, fast asleep. Felicity ignored the skip in her heart at just how sweet and considerate the man in front of her was.

He cleared his throat and looked down for a second. When he looked back up at her she had to actively tell herself that his eyes did not look at all darker. “Do you need anything from me, Felicity?”

She had to bite her lip to stop a laugh from escaping. _You to stay,_ she thought, _to let me get lost in your arms, or kiss me senseless._ She cleared her throat and tried to shake those images from her head. “I think I’m okay.” 

He nodded, looking a little disappointed, and she noticed that his hands curled into fists for a second. He pushed himself off of the doorframe, and pushed his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, making them fall a little lower on his hips. “Good night, Felicity.” His voice was like gravel and started a fire low in her belly. He turned from her then, closing the door on his way out.

Felicity stared at the closed door for fifteen seconds before breathing again. The aloneness of the room sank into her soul. There were about two inches of wood separating her and everything she wanted, but was too afraid to admit. Two inches of wood that meant the difference between this crushing loneliness and the only pair of arms that have ever truly felt like home. And just like that she was moving, rushing to throw open those two inches. When she opened the door to her room, she was met with the sight of Oliver throwing open the door to his room as well. _He wants this, too,_ she thought to herself.

“Oliver, can I—”

“Felicity, of course—”

They spoke at the same time, before letting the words die on their lips. They stared at each other for seven more seconds before both of them moved, meeting in the middle of the hallway. Felicity buried her head into his neck and both of his arms wound around her so tightly that it should have been painful, but it wasn’t. He pressed his face into her hair, alternating between pressing kisses to the top of her head and murmuring words of comfort. He bent down, scooping her up, and turning into his room, kicking the door shut. They separated only to crawl into bed, underneath his forest green covers and then they were plastered to each other once more. He reached into her pocket and his and put their cell phones on the nightstand, before leaning back into the pillows and bringing her with him.

Felicity was laying practically across him, her head still pressed into his neck, her lips gently touching his pulse point. Her arm was stretched across his chest, holding him tightly, as if he would disappear at any moment. His arms were doing much of the same. He continued alternating between sweet words and peppering her with little kisses that seemed to fill all the cracks in her heart. He ran his hands up and down her back, letting their warmth fill her. She felt like she was coming back to life, coming back to herself. This man always helped her find her own strength without even realizing it. She pulled back slightly to look into his eyes and saw that his were burning just as intensely as hers were. “Don’t leave me?” Her voice came out a hoarse whisper.

Oliver swallowed hard before lifting one of his arms off her back and cupping the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Felicity, there is _no where_ I would rather be than with you.” She had to close her eyes at the intensity of his words. After so many years of denying it could they finally be finding their way to each other? He gently guided her head back to the crook of his neck, his hand tangling in her hair, rubbing soft circles into her scalp. “Get some sleep, honey. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”

And with his scent in her nose, his warmth seeping into her bones, his strength pouring into her and love in every corner of her heart, she finally let sleep pull her under.

* * *

 

She woke surrounded by warmth. She felt safe, and a steady heart beat drummed under her ear, threatening to lull her back into a sleep. But then she realized what she was laying on. Because pillows don’t have heartbeats, or breathe, or are made of _rock hard_ muscles.  Then it all came back to her. _Oliver._ She was sleeping on _Oliver._ She held her breath for a second, trying to hear anything out of the normal. She didn’t want to wake him up by moving. She knew that he didn’t sleep very well and was an exceedingly light sleeper, but she wanted to know if he was awake. His breathing seemed deep and even, so she took a risk and gently lifted her head off of his shoulder. 

He looked so peaceful. Sometimes she felt like the only time he really relaxed was when he slept. Not that she got the privilege of seeing him sleep very often, but there were a few times. she stared for a few more seconds before lowering her head back onto his shoulder as tenderly as she could manage. She snuggled in closer and let her eyes close. Her fingers traced circles on his chest, in what seemed to be on their own accord. She smiled to herself, and for a moment let her mind wonder to what it would be like to wake up to this every morning, and _God_ if that didn’t set a longing in her heart she doubted anything ever would. 

“You’re thinking too loud,” Oliver’s soft voice broke through her daydreams. It was still gravely like it was last night and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was actually thinking. She pushed herself up, off his chest slightly so she could look at his face. His eyes were still a little sleepy, but clearer than they were yesterday. She hoped that meant that he slept a little better with her there, too. “Hey,” he whispered, his lips curled up into a small smile.

Her lips mirrored his when she answered him back. “Hey.” She cleared her throat, and looked down at her fingers, which had shifted up and were absently playing with the collar of his t-shirt, occasionally grazing his bare skin. “Thank you for staying with me last night.” 

“I will always be here for you, Felicity.” 

His answer was instant, and so sure that her heart constricted within her chest almost painfully. Before she could stop herself she leaned down with the intent of pressing a kiss onto his cheek. But considering that her glasses were sitting on the bathroom counter in the guest room, her perception was slightly off and she ended up kissing the corner of his mouth. She heard his intake of breath and her eyes practically bulged out of her head. She tried opening and closing her mouth a few times to say something, _anything,_ but nothing came out. His eyes scanned hers, blue on blue, and seemed to be contemplating something. And then he came to a conclusion.

His hand slowly ran up her spine, over her neck, and then cupped the back of her head. He applied a gentle amount of pressure to bring her closer to him, so close that their breath tangled together. His eyes searched hers again, looking for any sign that she wanted to back away or stop. And when he must not have found it, he closed the distance, his lips pressing against hers in the sweetest kiss.

Silence. Stillness. Heat. It all coursed through her in a matter of seconds. Her brain stopped. Her heart seemed to still. Her thoughts diminished. No nightmares. No numbers. Nothing. Just him. The amazing man that was pressing his _lips_ against hers. And then the tone of the kiss changed, and before she knew it, she was being flipped over and pressed into the pillows. His body pressed into hers without crushing her, and she knotted her hands into the back of his t-shirt, pulling him tighter to her. The sweet kiss turned passionate, his lips slanting over hers almost urgently. His one hand was cupping her neck and the other was grasping her hip bone, his fingers digging deliciously into her flesh. She let out a small moan and he swallowed it. When she snaked her fingers into his hair and lightly scraped his scalp with her nails a noise of his own answered her from the back of his throat. 

She could have easily died here, happily. Needing nothing but the feeling of his lips on hers and his body completely blanketing hers. She was melting. She was on fire. She was in heaven. She could have lived in this space forever.

But unfortunately reality had other plans for her. She could here the urgent vibrations coming from her phone. She wasn’t sure how many there were, because it took her senses longer to actually notice them than it should have. She was fine to ignore it, but much to her chagrin, Oliver lifted his lips off of hers, lowering his forehead to hers. Their breaths were still lingering together, coming out in heavy pants, as if the two of them had just ran a marathon. She looked up into his eyes timidly, afraid that she would see regret in his blue oceans. She gasped when she saw pure heat still, and a tinge of annoyance, which she hoped was aimed at her phone and not her. He leaned in again, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek and lingered there for a few seconds before raising himself up and grabbing her phone off of the nightstand, dropping it softly on her stomach and rolling on his side. Her heart fluttered when he wrapped his hand around her hip still, his eyes admiring her face. “I know better then to get between you and technology.”

She chuckled, looking up at him still. Slowly she reached her hand up and traced a finger across his cheek, and she didn’t pretend not to notice how his breath hitched this time. She smiled, then sighed. If he stopped the most amazing kiss of her life for her phone, she might as well check what it was. Slowly dragging her eyes away from his face she checked what was so urgent on her phone. What she saw had her shooting up, as if the shock electrocuted her. Her breathing was coming rapidly again, but for a completely different reason. Tears blurred her vision and panic coursed through her veins. Oliver followed her, twisting so he was facing her and cupping her face in his hands. 

“Honey, what’s wrong? What is it?” His voice was ragged, almost tortured, as if her fear caused him physical pain. With shaky hands she handed him her phone. His eyes darted around the screen, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. There were seven text messages displaying on her phone screen. Each text came from a different number. And each text said the same thing. “Seven.” Oliver cursed under his breath.

Felicity took the phone from his hands, scrolling through the messages looking at the numbers. Oliver left the bed, growling that he was going to call Diggle to update him. The words processed without really reaching her. She was so focused on the messages that nothing else was really getting through to her. She thought of Diggle’s words when she suggested that she was going to look through the traffic cameras. He told her that she didn’t have to do it on her own, that Lyla would look into it for her. And while she had zero doubts about Lyla’s ability, the woman was absolutely amazing, that’s not who she was. She didn’t sit back and let other people fight her battles for her. It was time she woke up and dealt with this. If this asshole thought he was going to ruin another kiss from Oliver he was absolutely wrong. Some color returned to her cheeks when that thought ran through her head and she found herself lightly touching her lips.

Oliver stormed back into the room, looking like he was ready to tear someone apart, and for some reason that sent a wave of heat coursing through her. Gone was the fear. Felicity was ready to play. “Diggle and Lyla are coming over soon. She had some footage ready anyway, and now they want to look into the text messages as well.”

Felicity nodded, meeting his eyes with determination, “Oliver can you go get my tablet? I have complete confidence in A.R.G.U.S., I do, but I need to do something. They’re probably just burner phones anyway, but like hell I’m not going to attempt to trace these numbers.” 

The pride that shone is his eyes lifted her heart in a way she didn’t think twas possible at this moment. “That’s my girl.” He turned quickly, and returned not even a minute later with her tablet in his hands and Baby hot on his heals. He handed her the tablet and sat on the bed next to her, quietly observing the way that her fingers flew over the screen. 

After a while she spoke, “It may take a couple of hours, but I think I can trace them. It’s just tricky because there are so many numbers, but I reworked my algorithm to figure it out. They’re definitely burner phones, so they’re probably already gone, but I think they I can still trace the cell towers they they bounced off of. I wonder why he used seven numbers, not just texted me seven times. I guess that wasn’t fair of me to assume this was a guy, though, huh? Especially since we really haven’t gotten any clues, it was kinda rude of me to assume gender. Not that that I have to be nice to this person, because hello, class A creep and _oh_ my God why are you not stopping this babble?” She tore her eyes away from her tablet and looked at him. “Is that a judgmental look there, Queen?” She asked, her voice a tinge teasing.

The corner of his mouth ticked up and he let out a small laugh, “Pride. How’d you get to be so _strong_ , huh?”

Her cheeks flushed and she could feel her mouth opening and closing like a fish, “I took my lead from you.” 

His eyes darkened and dropped to her lips quickly. How the two of them could be distracted by the chemistry between them in a time like this really just spoke volumes on how they had let this feeling between them go too long. “We should uh… probably talk about that kiss, huh?” She asked, her voice a lot more hoarse than it was a mere minute ago.

Oliver cleared his throat and met her eyes. “Yeah, we definitely should…” his phone rung, and John’s name lit up his screen. He sighed. “Apparently phones are not on our side today, huh?” That earned a chuckle from her as he answered the call. “John… yes… okay… okay, sounds good. See you soon.” He hung up and put the phone in his pocket. “They’re on their way over now. You may want to get dressed, unless you want John to see you in your pajamas.”

“Hey!” She said, smacking his arm lightly, “these happen to be my favorite pajamas.” They were a dark green shirt and flannel pants with little white arrows all over them. “But I guess you have a point.”

He smiled and they both stood. He cupped her elbow before she could make her way out the door. “We will have that talk, Felicity. Sooner rather than later, okay?”

All she could do was swallow hard and nod, her throat suddenly much too dry to answer him. She walked out of his room and her heart was still fluttering like crazy inside of her chest. A half hourlater they were both dressed and sitting in Oliver’s kitchen with Lyla and Diggle. Felicity got them up to speed on the text messages and showed Lyla that she was tracing where the texts originated from. Lyla had given her a nod of approval then pulled out her laptop, setting it up.

 “I had my team scan the traffic footage, and unfortunately we couldn’t find anything near your apartment. Knowing the time of both incidents really helped speed up the process. The picture taking incident must have happened from an angle too high to be caught by the cameras. But when he dropped off the note and picture are much sketchier incidents. Here, take a look.” Lyla angled the laptop towards Felicity. “This is the only viewpoint of your apartment that we have, and both times our guy would have been in the shot the screen goes static for three minutes.” She hit play and Felicity watched as the screen did just what Lyla said. “Now, there is some good news.” Felicity’s heart jumped into her throat and she grabbed Oliver’s leg without even realizing it.

“We did catch a glimpse of the guy at the park,” John spoke up, coming to stand behind his wife and leaning over to pull up something on the laptop. “The cameras set up at the park take pictures every fifteen seconds. Which means we really only got one good picture, but it’s something.” He pulled the picture up and zoomed in on the figure. The figure was facing away from the camera. He was wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans. On his head was a black baseball cap that was pulled down as far as it could possibly go. He was squatting down and wrapping the piece of paper around Baby’s collar. Felicity raised her hand to her mouth in disgust. She hated seeing the evidence of this man putting his hands on Baby. And her stomach felt like it was in knots from the fact that this was the only shred of evidence. Oliver’s arm wrapped around her shoulder and she leaned into it. After a few deep breaths she looked into Dig’s concerned eyes.

“I know this isn’t what we wanted to come out of this, Felicity, but don’t give up yet. We’ll get this guy, and nothing’s going to happen to you. I have guards posted around the manner at all times. I know you don’t want to hear it, but, I think you should have a personal body guard with you at all times, too. Remember Rob? He was willing—”

“Robs the worst,” Oliver muttered, “you have to have someone better than Rob, available.”

Diggle scoffed, raising his eyebrows at Oliver. “Just because you made a habit of ditching Rob every chance you got back in the day doesn’t mean he’s a bad bodyguard, Oliver. You were kind of impossible, and Felicity here is a lot smarter than you and knows not to try to escape the person protecting you.” 

“He’s still the worst…” Oliver mumbled under his breath.

Felicity spoke up, drawing her boy’s attention back to her. “Is it really necessary to have someone on me all the time, Dig? I just feel like there’s a better use of Rob’s time. This guy hasn’t been violent yet.” Oliver tensed noticeably and his fingers dug into her skin slightly.

“With all due respect, Felicity,” Lyla spoke up, “I get final say on how my men spend my time. You’re family. If you think that we’re really going to let this guy try and get violent with you before offering you protection then you’ve got bigger problems than this.” She said the last part with a lopsided smile, and honestly it was one of the reasons that Felicity loved her so much. She knew how to cut through the bullshit while still assuring you that she cared.

Felicity opened her mouth to reply when her alarm went off on her tablet. She practically lunged to pick up the piece of technology from the table and her fingers were flying across the screen in a heartbeat. “I have locations on all the texts!” She scanned over them quickly and instantly felt sick. “Well, frack. They were all bounced off of different locations. Whoever this guy is he really knows his way around technology. It’s really impressive to be able to do all of that simultaneously.”

“Felicity,” Oliver said through his teeth, “the locations, please.” 

“Right,” she said, clearing her throat. “Well, as I said all different locations and none of them particularly give me the warm and fuzzies. They came from my apartment, the restaurant we have just had dinner at, the park, the office, Verdant, Big Belly Burger and Jitters. Which tells me—”

“He knows your personal schedule.” Diggle finished, his jaw tight and his eyes focused. “This reinforces the need for a bodyguard. Those are all spots you frequent, Felicity. Which means this guy either knows you personally or they’ve been following you. I know I asked this already, but have you noticed anyone strange lately?”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I’m not really friends with anyone at the office either. To be honest my friends group is kinda all in this room. Well, there’s Tommy and Laurel, too. And Roy and Thea, but I think it’s safe to say that they aren’t a threat. But speaking of, where is your mom and Thea, Oliver?” She asked.

“They’re out shopping, left right before you came down, but that’s not important right now, Felicity.” Oliver was starting to lose his grip on his emotions, so she grabbed his hand. 

“What if it is important, though? If he’s following me, he probably knows that I’m here. I should leave. And you should probably put security on your mom and Thea, too.”

“You’re not leaving,” he ground out, clutching her hand tightly, “I need you with me. Safe. And this is one of the most secure places you could be.” He looked to Diggle, who was looking between the two curiously but nodded in agreement. “But you might have a point about the extra set of eyes. Could we make that happen, guys?”

“Of course,” Lyla answered, “we can do that, no problem. I’ll bring the locations to the team and we’ll start scanning whatever footage we can get out hands on. See if maybe he was at one of the locations when he sent them. Think that’s a possibility?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “At this point, who knows? I’ll scan through it tonight, too. An extra pair of eyes can’t hurt.”

Lyla nodded, sending her a reassuring smile before packing up her stuff. “Rob will be here in the morning, you guys. I’ll let you know who I assign to Moira and Thea as well, and keep you updated on anything we find, okay?”

The pair nodded at them and Oliver stood, squeezing Felicity’s shoulder quickly. “I’ll walk you guys out.” He led Diggle and Lyla to the door thanking them for everything that they’ve done and are continuing to do, to which the pair reminded them that they’re family, and this is what you do for family. As he was closing the door he could have sworn he heard Lyla tell Diggle ‘looks like I’m going to win the bet soon’. He shook his head, smiling to himself, having an idea of where it was coming from and just hoping the he and Felicity were on the same page.

When he walked back into his kitchen he found Felicity wasn’t there anymore. He walked into the living room to find her curled up on her favorite couch, scrubbing through the footage of all the different locations. He could tell from the determination in her eyes and the little crease on her forehead that she was going to be at it for hours. So he did what he always did when she wenton her coding binges. He made her coffee and brought her the chocolate cookies that she loved-and that he always made sure were in the house just in case she wanted them. He dropped them down onto the table next to her and she gave a distant hum of gratitude, not looking up from the screen.

He watched her for a bit, letting the emotions that he had been repressing for years surface. He wasn’t sure when he had fallen in love with Felicity Smoak, but he was completely and utterly done for. She was his favorite part of the day, his motivation to keep going, and his strength in almost any situation. She was it for him, and he would do anything he needed to do to keep this woman he loved so dearly safe.

Felicity didn’t stir for hours. She didn’t even notice when Thea and Moira came home. He sat them down and explained the whole situation to them, including how they would have body guards on them for the time being. Both woman understood completely, and mainly expressed a concern for Felicity, who really had become family to both of them. Oliver found himself again promising that he would take care of her and that they could talk to her tomorrow. When they went to bed Oliver went back into the living room to check on his girl. 

When he walked back in the room she was fast asleep, curled up on the chair, her head leaning on her hand and her glasses askew on her face. His heart swelled in his chest and he let out a soft laugh. Gently, he pulled the tablet from her hands and lifted her up, cradling her against him much like he had done the night before. He walked her up the stairs but found himself in a dilemma when he got to their rooms. Did he put her in her room or his? As he was torturing himself with this decision, Felicity clutched his t-shirt and snuggled her face into his neck. “‘Liver, stay,” she whispered, and his choice was clear. He turned into his room. 

With his entire world rapped up in his arms he slept soundly, through the night.


End file.
